Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2010 09:53:11 EDT
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening - Book 9, chapters 31 - 32
The Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening --Book 9 - by BW
Copyright 2010 by billwstories
Chapter 31 -- Adjustments.
After we put Joshie in the crib, Dion hopped into bed beside
me. We bid each other sweet dreams and then slowly drifted
off to sleep. A couple of hours later, I heard Joshie begin to
cry. I waited to see if Dion was going to respond, but he
continued to lie there. I waited another minute and then I
began to gently shake my sleeping son.
"Dion, your son needs you," I advised him.
"Huh? What?" he responded, very groggily.
"Dion, you are going to have to tune in to your son's cries, if
you're going to take care of him," I added. Dion rolled over
and looked at me a second, before it sank in. He immediately
jumped out of bed and raced to the crib.
"What's wrong with him?" Dion asked, as he was lifting the
baby up.
"I believe he only wants his diaper changed and his next
bottle," I informed him. "Do you think you can handle that?"
"Ummm, yes, but will you please watch me, to make sure I'm
doing it correctly?" he asked, timidly.
"Yes, I'll make sure you are doing everything correctly," I
agreed, so Dion grabbed a diaper and the baby wipes and then
placed Joshie on the bed so he could change him.
"Oh, man, he shit!" Dion commented. "It's yellowish and it
really stinks."
"Yes, babies do that," I quipped. "Just make sure you clean
his bottom off really well, so he doesn't get a rash." Dion was
gagging and I couldn't help but chuckle as I watched him. It
almost appeared as if Dion had been on a bender and now had
the dry heaves.
"Dad, I'm not sure I can do this," he told me, in between gags.
"You can, but it might take you a while before you get used to
it," I explained. "You're doing fine, so don't give up."
"Dad, I'm not sure I'll ever get used to this," he replied, as he
set the smelly diaper aside and wiped Joshie off once again,
before placing him in the new diaper. Once that was done, he
turned to me and spoke.
"Dad, will you watch him for a second, while I take care of this
stuff," Dion asked, while holding the diaper. I quickly agreed.
Dion took it out and threw it in the trash, washed his hands
and then heated up the baby's bottle. A little while later, he
returned and began feeding Joshie.
"Damn, I didn't know taking care of someone this tiny could
be so hard," Dion informed me.
"Yes, they do require a lot of care and attention," I responded,
"but this is still the easy part. Wait until he starts walking and
getting into things."
"Damn, Dad. Am I going to be able to do this?" Dion asked. I
could tell he was being serious, but he also looked slightly
scared.
"Most new parents probably ask themselves the same thing," I
replied. "You'll do fine, but it will just take some time for you
to learn the ropes."
"I'm sure glad you're here to bail me out when I need it," Dion
shot back. "And Trey's going to have to learn to do some of
this too." Dion stopped and looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Dad, what if I don't hear him when he cries at night?" he
asked. "I wouldn't have tonight, if you hadn't woke me up."
"After a while you'll become so tuned in to the sounds Joshie
makes that you'll wake up when he coughs and sneezes too," I
answered. "It will take time and probably won't start to
happen until you have your next long vacation, when you'll be
able to spend more time with him."
"We'll be home at Thanksgiving, but that will only be for a few
days," Dion remarked. "I guess it will have to happen over the
Christmas break then."
"You're probably right," I agreed.
Once Dion finished feeding Joshie, he burped his son and put
him back in the crib. We went to sleep for another couple of
hours after that, but then Joshie awoke again. This time Dion
heard him and woke up on his own.
"Is he alright?" Dion asked, concerned.
"Yes, it's just time for his next changing and feeding," I
informed him.
"Does he do this all night, every night?" Dion followed.
"He will for a few weeks," I explained, "and then he'll start
sleeping a little longer before waking up. For now, though, it
looks as if it's going to be every couple of hours." Dion rolled
his eyes at that news, because he preferred to be able to get a
full night's sleep.
Once Dion finished tending to the baby's needs, we went back
to sleep again. Joshie woke up a couple of hours later and
Dion tended to him again, but when Joshie awoke the time
after that, we stayed up after he went back to sleep. As soon as
Dion put him down this time, he told me he'd be back in a bit
and then raced upstairs to his room.
"Okay, Trey, wake up," he said, while shaking his lover. "You
might as well start learning how to take care of Joshie too."
"But I want to sleep a little longer," Trey answered.
"So did I, but the baby woke me up every two hours, so now
it's time for you to join in the fun." Trey wasn't pleased, but
he got up anyway. He was about to say something to Dion, but
Dion spoke first.
"Hey, you said you wanted us to have kids, so you'll have to do
part of the work too," Dion informed him. "Dad's going to get
stuck with most of it, but I want you to spend time with Joshie
and take care of him as well."
Reluctantly, Trey kept his mouth shut and came downstairs
with Dion, "But he's sleeping," Trey stated, when he looked
into the crib.
"For now," Dion told him, "but he'll be up again soon. I think
we have time to have our breakfast first, before that happens."
The boys then went into the kitchen and began fixing
themselves something to eat. I sat with them and we talked a
bit about how they felt, what they thought of the experience
and how they wanted to split up the responsibilities. Once
they'd discussed all of this, we began cleaning up and then we
heard Joshie crying in the other room. Dion bolted to his side.
"Come on, Trey. It's your turn to change and feed him," Dion
announced, much to Trey's displeasure. However, Trey did go
in and took care of doing everything for Joshie, under Dion's
watchful gaze and words of advice.
That pair took care of Joshie throughout the day. They never
wandered very far away from him and spent time talking to
Joshie and reading him stories when he was awake. Joshie
would smile and follow both his fathers with his eyes, which
was pretty good for a newborn.
"Dad, he's real pink. Does it mean he'll stay that way?" Dion
wondered.
"Dion, he probably won't stay pink, but we probably won't
know his true skin color for a while," I explained. "It may take
weeks or even months before we can tell for sure, so you'll just
have to wait and watch."
"So maybe by Thanksgiving or Christmas we'll know more?"
Dion pressed, hopefully.
"We may, but let's not worry about that and just enjoy him as
he is now," I offered, and both boys seems to be fine with my
suggestion.
Dion and Trey took care of little Joshie most of the time, but
their brothers spent some time with the baby too. It was cute
to watch them all fussing over the infant and even Jake got into
the act.
Later that night, when it was approaching time for bed, I
posed a question to Dion and Trey. "How do you want to
handle tonight?" I asked. They looked at each other briefly,
before Dion answered.
"If you wouldn't mind," Dion began, "we'll stay in your room
and take care of Joshie."
"That will be fine," I agreed. "Jake and I will stay in
Shannon's room then."
Since that was set, I left them on their own. They went into our
room, shut the door and hopped in to bed, once Joshie was in
the crib. Trey immediately began kissing Dion, which got him
excited, so Dion got out of bed and began to prepare himself
for lovemaking.
"Uh, I don't know about doing it in Dad's bed," Trey
confessed. "It doesn't seem right."
"Hey, Dad and Jake do it in here, so I'm sure they won't
mind," Dion answered. Trey gave in easily, since he was
horny, so before long, Dion was slowly entering his lover. They
had just begun to get in to it, when Joshie began to cry.
"Damn!" Dion exclaimed, when he heard him.
"Just let him cry a bit," Trey suggested, since he didn't want to
stop.
"No, I'll take care of Joshie first and then we can finish this
afterward," Dion offered, as he pulled out of Trey. Trey
seemed disappointed.
"Is this the way it's going to be from now on?" Trey wondered.
"Are we always going to have to put Joshie first and our needs
second?"
"Yes, baby, we are," Dion replied. "Joshie depends on us for
everything right now, so he comes first. Don't worry, you
won't be neglected."
The boys then took care of Joshie and changed and fed him,
but once he was asleep, they jumped back in bed and started
over. This time there was no interruption and Dion was able to
make sweet love to Trey. Once they had each exploded in
powerful orgasms, Dion whispered in Trey's ear.
"Satisfied?"
"Totally," Trey answered.
"Then it was worth waiting until the baby was taken care of
first?" Dion pressed.
"If it's always that good," Trey continued, "we can wait every
night until after his diaper has been changed and he's been
given his bottle." That seemed to answer Dion's question and
removed any doubt that Trey was going to become jealous of
the baby.
The only problem was, I wasn't sleeping very well upstairs.
Besides being in a strange bed, I was also worried that Dion
and Trey weren't going to hear Joshie when he cried.
Therefore, I woke up several times and finally gave in to my
concerns and began to occasionally sneak downstairs, so I
could check up on how things were going.
I never heard Joshie cry during any of the times I did this, but
on a couple of occasions I did notice the boys were both up and
taking care of him. The first time they didn't happen to notice
me, so I slipped back upstairs before they did, but the second
time Dion spotted me in the foyer.
"Something wrong, Dad?" he asked.
"No, I was just coming down for drink," I fibbed, although I
did go and get some water after that. "How are things going?"
"Not too bad," Dion answered. "This is the third time he's
woken us up, but I think we've heard him every time he's
cried."
"That's good," I replied. "Any problems?"
"Not unless you want to consider a really stinky diaper as a
problem," Trey joked. "I thought I was going to vomit when
Dion made me change it."
"Well, Dion did one last night, so it's only fair," I added, with a
chuckle.
Since they seemed to have things under control, I went back to
bed, feeling a little more at ease about falling asleep. In fact, I
slept a little later than normal and Jake was considerate
enough not to wake me.
"Why did you let me sleep so late?" I asked him, when I ran
into him downstairs.
"I knew you were up most of the night, checking on the boys,"
Jake confessed, "so I decided to let you get some rest."
"But it's Sunday and we have church," I followed.
"Josh, it's only nine and everyone else is ready," Jake assured
me, "so just get ready quickly and we can leave."
Before I left, I did have one additional question. "Dion, are
you going to take Joshie to church?"
"Do you think it will be alright?" Dion asked.
"Yes, he should be fine," I answered. "He'll probably sleep
through most of it, like the rest of you do, but we'll take a
diaper and a bottle with us, in case he wakes up."
My comment about the rest of them sleeping through the
service got me some hostile glares and a few comments, but hey
-- I have to get my shots in when I can.
The baby was nearly perfect throughout the service and on the
way out, several people stopped us to see him. Dion was very
open about being the father, but didn't say much when asked
about the mother. He said he wanted to wait and speak with
her first, to see if she had any problems with everyone knowing
she was Joshie's mom.
Our minister stopped us so he could see the baby too and told
Dion he should consider having the baby baptized. Dion
agreed and said he'd contact him and set up a time for it when
he was home on a vacation. Our pastor agreed and
congratulated him on his son.
Joshie even joined us for brunch, and Dion and Trey took
turns giving him his bottle, while they attempted to down their
meal in between. The waitress had been kind enough to heat
the bottle up for them, so we thanked her and I added a little
something extra to her tip. Once the baby finished his bottle
and burped, he went right back to sleep. Oh, what a life.
After I dropped everyone else off at home, Dion wanted me to
take him and the baby down to Shelly's house. He wanted to
ask her if she wanted others to know she was his mother, but it
was also to give her and her parents a chance to see Joshie too.
I thought that was very considerate of him, so I drove him
down. Trey thought it would be awkward if he accompanied
us, so he stayed home and worked on some of the assignments
he had brought back with him.
The Novaks were thrilled when they saw us at the door and
invited us inside. Dion handed Shelly's mother the baby,
nearly as soon as we walked in, and she and her husband sat
down and began talking to Joshie. While they were doing that,
Dion took Shelly aside and asked her his question.
"Look. When we were at church this morning, some of the
people asked who Joshie's mother was," he began. "Since I
didn't know if you wanted me to tell anyone, I didn't say
anything, but I'd like to know what you want me to do in the
future." Shelly thought about this quickly, before responding.
'I guess that since you're going to let me be a part of his life,
they're going to find out sooner or later," she answered. "You
might as well be honest and tell them and I'll make sure my
parents are okay with it too. Thanks for asking though and
not just making the decision on your own."
"Hey, I didn't want to make the decision for you," Dion stated,
"and I just want to do what you're comfortable with. I won't
do anything to hurt you in any way, since you were nice
enough to let Trey and me raise the baby." They hugged
briefly after he said this and then they came back to join the
rest of us.
Shelly's parents were having a great time with Joshie, so
before we left, I assured them they could call and let me know
when they wanted to see him. I told them I'd be happy to
bring him down any time, so he could get to know his other
grandparents too. They thanked us for doing that and then
Dion and I took Joshie home.
After spending the rest of the day with the family, Dion and
Trey left to return to their respective campuses around three.
Trey was driving back, while Brandon was taking Dion. I told
both boys they could call or email me whenever they wanted to
find out how the baby was and we'd see them again at
Thanksgiving, when they could spend more time with him. I
don't think either father wanted to leave and they kept coming
back to kiss and hold Joshie, but eventually they got in their
vehicles. They were teary eyed and hesitant to go, but knew
they had to, so they told me they'd be in touch regularly, to see
how Joshie was doing.
Once they pulled away, I took Joshie back inside and we
settled in for the long road ahead of us.
The Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening --Book 9 - by BW
Copyright 2010 by billwstories
Chapter 32 -- Some Joshie Firsts.
Before I knew it, September and some of October had passed
me by. That's why I was slightly stunned when Andrew and
Jesse confronted me about having the haunted house again.
After realizing Halloween wasn't that far away, I explained it
would be difficult to do it this year, with only four of them at
home. However, Andrew and Jesse seemed determined to have
it, so I agreed to speak with the other two, to see what they
thought of the idea.
Sammy and Little Ricky weren't really into the idea of having
the haunted house this year, but since they didn't want to
disappoint their two younger brothers, they agreed to help out.
When I told Andrew and Jesse, they were ecstatic, although I
think Andrew was doing this more for Jesse's sake than for his
own benefit. The boys then suggested there were others they
knew that had expressed an interest in helping, so I told them
it would be fine to invite them to participate.
Andrew recruited the boy he had invited to the Valentine's
Party at our house one year and Jesse included three of his
classmates who were eager to do this. It was pretty much just
a replay of the past couple of years, except this time around we
had new participants to play the various roles.
This was also Joshie's first Halloween with us, and even though
he would only be six-weeks old, I wanted to include him in
some way. We'd take pictures, so we could share them with
Dion and Trey later, but we'd also have them to show Joshie
when he got older. I wanted him to see he had always been
included as a fully participating member of the family.
I quickly decided that this year, Jake, Joshie and I would greet
everyone when they entered. We would be located just inside
the backdoor, so Joshie wouldn't get too chilled, and just a
short distance away from Dracula and his coffin. I had talked
it over with Jake and we had agreed on what we were going to
be, so we started going to garage sales to collect the props we
would need, after we made certain we could get the required
costumes. We were going to be the 'Three Bears,' of
Goldilocks fame.
Jake and I had rented bear costumes that resembled cuddly,
not ferocious, bears, and I had also purchased an adorable
bear outfit for Joshie online. I would be the Papa Bear, seated
in a tall, and very stiff looking, wooden chair. Jake would be
the Mama Bear and have an overstuffed living room chair to
sit in, while Joshie would be in his infant car seat, but it would
be placed in a comfy recliner. We got into position, after we
fed and changed Joshie, and waited for the children to arrive.
Everyone immediately recognized who, or what, we were and
the kids had a great time asking if they could sit in our chairs.
Joshie seemed to like watching the other children, dressed in
an assortment of costume, go by and only fussed once. When
he started crying, I quickly took him into our bedroom, so I
could change his diaper, and then gave him his bottle, while
sitting in my chair. Sammy and Little Ricky took several
pictures of us throughout the night and I was sure Dion and
Trey were going to love them.
Once Halloween was behind us, we started getting ready for
Thanksgiving. Since my biological children were coming for
Christmas, they would not be joining us for Thanksgiving. It
would just be the boys, minus Frankie and Nick, plus some of
the extended family. We'd make do.
As the big day drew closer, Jake and I got things ready for
Thanksgiving dinner. We had purchased everything we'd
need, for both the dinner and desserts, so all we had to do was
put it all together and pop it into the ovens. Sounds easy!
Right?
Well, when Thanksgiving finally arrived, I spent most of
Wednesday baking pies, cakes and puddings. Jake helped me
finish them up when he got home from work, so they were all
done before we went to bed.
Thursday morning, I stayed up after giving Joshie his 4:00
feeding, so I could start the turkey. Dion and Trey had come
home Wednesday night, but they were so tired that I just told
them I'd take care of Joshie one more day, so they could get
some sleep. They thanked me, went in and gave Joshie a kiss,
before dragging off to their room.
When the other boys came stumbling downstairs the next
morning, Jake and I fixed them some breakfast. Once they
finished, they went to lounge about in the family room for a
while, before our guests started to arrive. Around 1:00, I
suggested they go get cleaned up and changed, since our guests
would start arriving around 2:00. Dinner wasn't until 3:00,
but I wanted to spend some time with everyone first, before we
ate.
Unfortunately, Duck wasn't going to be able to be with us for
this holiday either, since he and his girlfriend were going to
spend Thanksgiving weekend with her parents. Duck had told
me he wasn't excited about this, but it was something he felt he
had to do, in order to keep peace between them. Therefore, I
told him I'd see them both at Christmas.
As the final items for dinner were cooking, we started greeting
our guests as they arrived. Of course, Steve, Mary and Sally
were there, along with the Spences and Arlene, and Susan
(Mark's mother) and Alice (Jesse's mother) had joined us as
well. While we were chatting, I began showing everyone,
including Dion and Trey, the pictures we had of Joshie,
including the three of us dressed up like the 'Three Bears' for
Halloween. The women told us we were adorable and loved
the chairs we used to heighten the effect. Dion and Trey loved
seeing the pictures too and were pleased we had burned them
on a CD for each of them, so they could take it back to college.
There were about 25 different pics and the majority of them
were of Joshie.
When we finally sat down to eat, Joshie had his own place of
honor. He was seated in his swing, which was placed just off
the corner of the head table, between his father's chair and
mine. Once we were all seated, we observed our tradition of
having everyone tell us what they were thankful for this year.
I'll spare you all of the details and just give you a few of the
highlights of what was slightly different from what had been
said in the past.
Dion and Trey were thankful for Joshie and that his mother
had signed over custody to them, as well as for me agreeing to
take care of him, until they had finished with school. Ricky
said he was thankful I had treated Peter so well and let him
stay with us for a year, as well as for taking the family to visit
Australia and allowing Peter to show us around. Dustin said
he and all of his brothers, were thankful that I had taken them
in and set up accounts in each of their names, so they would be
assured of having a decent start in life.
Steve and Mary said they were thankful they had been able to
adopt Vinnie and take a more active role as an integral part of
our wonderful and unique family. Susan was thankful for her
son, Mark, and all we'd done to help both of them. Finally, it
became time for Alice to say something.
"I find this to be a very nice tradition and I can see why you
are all thankful for the things you've mentioned," she began,
"and I've got a lot to be thankful for. I'm thankful that Josh
took Jesse in when I left him here and he's done so much for
Jesse since. I'm also thankful for Andrew and what a
wonderful friend he's been to my son, but I'm especially
thankful that the Curries helped me move here, so I could
remain part of Jesse's life.
"Although I feel guilty for not figuring this out on my own, I'm
thankful Jesse confided in Josh about what his stepfather had
done and Josh helped set the situation right. Most of all, I'm
thankful to everyone here for accepting me and making me feel
a part of this wonderful and loving family -- especially since
hardly any of us are related by blood. That's what a true
family is all about."
It was nice to see she understood and appreciated what we
were trying to do, by opening our arms and welcoming those
who wanted, or needed, to be part of something greater than
themselves.
After that, we enjoyed the meal and the great company. We
finished dinner off by stuffing ourselves full of desserts, about
an hour later. Some of the family adjourned to the family
room afterward, so they could watch the football game, while
the rest stayed in the dining room to talk.
Dion and Trey had been taking care of Joshie all day, although
they did get some help from their brothers. The other boys
wanted to get to hold their nephew and spend time with him
too, and everyone was really great with Joshie. Surprisingly,
Joshie didn't mind being passed around like a hot potato and
merely enjoyed whoever was holding him at the time.
When bedtime rolled around, Jake and I switched rooms with
Dion and Trey again, so they could stay with the baby. It was
their turn to take care of the feedings during the night, even
though Joshie was sleeping nearly three hours at a time now,
rather than waking up every two.
The next morning, while we were sitting at the breakfast table,
Dion asked me a question. "Do you think this is the color
Joshie's going to be?" he wondered. Joshie appeared as if he
had a nice tan.
"It's possible, seeing he has a mixture of your and Shelly's
genes," I answered. "Even though you're not very dark, he is
even lighter and may stay that way. It is also possible he could
get a little darker, but I'd guess at most, he might attain your
coloring." I don't think Dion was concerned about how dark
Joshie might get, it's just that he was curious about how Joshie
was going to eventually look.
Everyone returned for leftovers later and we had another
wonderful day with the family. Dion and Trey were like two
doting parents and wouldn't even leave Joshie alone long
enough to go out and participate in a game of touch football
with their brothers later. I guess their paternal instincts had
really kicked in.
We did go out and do some early Christmas shopping on
Saturday, but we spent most of the day just relaxing and being
very laid back. I was enjoying my little vacation from the
constant demands of raising an infant, as well as reveling in
how seriously Dion and Trey were responding to those
demands.
On Sunday, all the various groups of college boys began to
pack up and leave again. This was a very tough time for Dion
and Trey, since neither wanted to leave Joshie again. They had
spent so much time with him over the past few days and didn't
want it to end, but eventually they gave in to the reality that it
was the way things had to be. I think both boys had tears in
their eyes, as they hugged and kissed Joshie, before hopping in
their respective vehicles. I reminded them they'd be back in
another month and the time in between would go quickly, so
they sucked it up and took off.
For the first time in a very long time, I found the time between
Thanksgiving and Christmas somewhat relaxing. Sure, I had a
few concerts to attend and Christmas shopping to take care of,
but I didn't have nearly as many parties, concerts, functions or
sporting events that I felt I also had to attend. Heck, I was
almost beginning to enjoy this time of year for a change.
I was spending my days playing Christmas CD's and singing
along with them, to Joshie's delight -- or at least I hoped he was
delighted. At three months, his personality was beginning to
emerge and it appeared he was going to be a happy, carefree
baby. He laughed and smiled a lot, plus he cooed whenever I
held him, read him a story or just talked. We were growing
very close, so I knew I was going to miss spending so much
time with him while his daddy and poppy were home.
When Dion and Trey arrived for the holidays, I packed up
Joshie and drove all of us to the mall. I had been waiting to do
this until Dion and Trey had arrived home from school, so they
could be there when Joshie had his first picture taken with
Santa. Unlike some of the other children, Joshie sat on Santa's
lap and looked around at all the colored lights. He had the
biggest grin on his face when the picture was snapped, so it was
definitely a keeper.
Christmas was on Sunday this year and the boys started
arriving home on Friday. It was nice to see them all again and
we started off by making certain their was room for the others
when they arrived. Since Frankie and Nick's rooms were
already open, we just shifted some boys around so the third
floor was filled up first. This left the guest room and a couple
of rooms on the second floor open for our guests. I'd give
Marie the guest room, so she wouldn't have to navigate the
stairs with the baby and Dion and Trey were going to use the
master bedroom with Joshie. Jake and I would use their room
and then the others would stay in the other open rooms. We
would fit everyone in without a problem.
Duck and his girlfriend showed up on Friday too, and it was
nice to see them both again. After they got to meet Joshie and
his girlfriend got to hold the baby for a while, we talked about
what they had been up to since we'd last seen them. It's nice to
be able to catch up on things, once you've been apart for a
while.
Everyone else showed up on Saturday, along with another
surprise. Frankie was with them. I was shocked. It turned
out he was able to finagle a two-week leave over the holidays in
return for volunteering to spend another year at Guantanamo.
He wanted to surprise me, so he'd contacted the others to find
out what they were doing and then scheduled his flight to
coincide with their arrival, so he could ride in with them from
the airport. To say the least, I was thrilled.
"I promised you last year I'd be home for Christmas this
year," he announced, as he gave me a tremendous hug. "I
would never willingly break a promise to you, so here I am."
"And I'm happy to see you," I confirmed, "as long as you don't
or didn't get into any trouble by doing this."
"Nope, the C.O. agreed to give me the time off, since I had
volunteered to stay there for a second tour," he explained.
"This is what I asked for, if I agreed to bail them out and stay
longer." Man, this is great and I am sooooo excited that
Frankie was here with us.
We quickly introduced everyone to Joshie and they all told
Dion they thought it was wonderful he had named the baby
after me. Dion said he had to give the baby the name of the
most important person in his life and I think that scored him
some extra points with the others.
Jordan and Nicky held the baby for a while, but soon tired of
it. They had both held their little sisters, so it wasn't a big deal
for them. Their eyes did bug out of their head though, when
they happened to walk by when Joshie was being changed.
"Wow, the baby sure has a big pee-pee, Papa," Nicky
observed.
"Yes, he does, for a little guy," I told him.
"Dang, what did you do to make it that big?" Jordan asked.
"I didn't do anything. It's just that his father passed along
some pretty good genes," I explained.
"What does his jeans have to do with it?" Nicky wondered.
"Not jeans, like in the type you wear, but genes as in the stuff
in your body that determines whether you are a boy or a girl,
what color your hair is, what color eyes you'll have, how tall
you'll get and things like that."
"Oh!" Nicky said, as he turned back to stare at Joshie's
genitals again, before I covered the area with the diaper.
Since this was the first I'd seen of Elizabeth and Tim since the
reconciliation, I spent quite a bit of time with them. We
chatted about many things, including her ectopic pregnancy,
what they'd been up to, Jake's and my commitment ceremony
and about us flying off to Canada to get married.
"I won't say I understand it -- well I understand that you want
to be together, but if it makes you happy and you love each
other, then I'm happy for you," she informed us.
We thanked her for that, and we also thanked Tim when he
told us he agreed with what his wife had said. It was nice to
have the family back together and not at odds over some petty
squabble.
That evening, I read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' again,
and just as soon as I finished, Santa appeared in the window.
"It's just Papa Jake," Jordan stated.
"No, Jordan. Jake is right here," I announced, while pointing
to where Jake was standing.
"But I saw him leave," Jordan added, with conviction.
"Yes, I went to the toilet," Jake answered.
"Then it's Uncle Robert," Nicky offered.
"No, I'm here," Robert stated, while standing up. The pair
quickly looked around and accounted for everyone else, but
outside the window they could still see Santa Claus. How could
that be?
Let me explain. We thought the boys were getting suspicious
and catching on, so Steve volunteered to play Santa this year.
When Jake went to the toilet, he called Steve using his cell
phone and Steve drove over. Jake then pushed the 'send'
button to enter the text message he had entered earlier, to let
Steve know it was time to 'appear.' The boys were confused,
Jesse and Megan were excited and we got all of the kids to bed
without too much of a struggle.
Oh, we did pay for it the next morning, when a little after 4:00
we began to hear shouts of, "Santa's been here! Santa's been
here! He's left us all kinds of presents!"
The rest of us dragged ourselves out of bed, shuffled down to
the family room and passed out presents. Once everything was
unwrapped, some of us literally were ready to pass out. We
were only able to go back to bed because some of the older
boys volunteered to stay up and keep an eye on the little ones.
Before I was able to do that though, Elizabeth handed me a
card. "What's this?" I asked. "You've already given me a
gift."
"I know, but this is just something a little extra," she replied,
with a twinkle in her eye.
I opened it up and it was a Christmas card to 'Dad.' I began to
read it and discovered she had written a personal note inside.
"You're about to be a grandfather again. I'm pregnant and
the baby is due near the end of May.'
I could hardly believe my eyes. My baby was going to have a
baby too. "Really? This is great! Have you told the others?"
"No, you're the first person we've told," she explained.
"Then come with me," I urged. "We're going to tell the rest of
them right now!"
I quickly hollered for everyone to come back to the family
room, so they dragged back downstairs. When they were all
there, I turned to Elizabeth.
"Elizabeth has something to tell you," I announced, and then
let her have the floor.
"I just told Dad, but now I'll tell all of you," she began. "I'm
pregnant and the baby is due near the end of May."
Everyone congratulated her, but Marie had to tease her as
well. "It's about time," Marie told her. "Even Dion beat you!"
Dion blushed, well sort of, when he was dragged in to this, but
everyone else laughed. Our family was going to increase by
one more. Then some of the others got on Robert and asked
him when he was going to get married and become a father,
but he just joked it off, as he usually does.
We ended up having a great day, which was topped off with a
great meal with our extended family. Jake and I made sure to
thank Steve for his help and told him what had gone on. He
merely laughed and said he was happy he could help and
would do it next year too, if we wanted. We assured him we
did and Jesse and my grandchildren never were able to figure
that one out.
After dinner, Dion and I packed Joshie up and drove him
down to see Shelly and her family. We had him dressed in
little red jammies with white trim, which looked similar to the
outfit Santa wore. We also placed a red conical hat on his
head, which also had white trim and a white cloth ball on the
end. Joshie looked really cute.
While we were there, we took a picture of Joshie with each of
them and they took one with each of us. After that, we took
group shots with Joshie and their family, and then another
with Joshie, Dion, Trey and me. We took one more with Joshie
and his mother and father and then a final shot with Joshie,
Dion and Trey. The Novaks appreciated our visit and we had
a great time there. I'm sure Joshie didn't understood what
was going on, but we had plenty of pictures so we could explain
it to him later.
The day after Christmas, my biological children had to leave
and return to their homes. They had to go back to work the
following day, so we said good-bye, but it was an emotional
parting. After having missed so much time with each other, it
was tough to separate once more. However, we did all agree to
get together this summer, even if it was just to spend time here
at the house.
Nick came back near the end of the week, so he could be with
Shannon for New Year's. We were all happy to see him and
Nick got to meet little Joshie for the first time too. Nick also
teased Dion about being a breeder. It was harmless, but
somewhat comical.
Since last year's celebration had worked out so well, we
decided to do the same thing again this year. I rented out the
Elk's club, hired the same DJ and allowed the boys to invite
whomever they wanted. Some of the straight boys, including
Frankie, invited dates and Dion invited Shelly. She understood
that Dion and Trey were partners and would be spending most
of the night together, but she was just happy to be out of the
house and able to be with Joshie. Dion, Trey, Shelly and I had
planned to take turns taking care of Joshie, but we had more
than enough offers of additional help. It seemed as if every
woman in the building wanted to get her hands on the baby, so
he got plenty of attention and wasn't neglected at all.
Duck, Mark and their girlfriends also joined us, along with
most of our extended family. We were all excited and anxious
to enjoy this wonderful night. We danced and drank, although
not to excess, and had a great time. Once again, the DJ played
a wide selection of tunes, so we all found something to identify
with and more than enough to dance too. The evening was
going great, but just before midnight we received an additional
surprise. Danny and Brandon went up and used the DJ's
sound system to make an announcement.
"Seeing all of our loved ones are here, along with a few very
special friends," Brandon began, "Danny and I want to give
you a special invitation. After we come home from college this
May, we will both have our bachelor's degrees, and we've
decided to have our own commitment ceremony, like Dad and
Pop did. We want all of you to attend, if you are willing and
able.
"We'll let you know the exact date and time later, but it will
most likely be during one of the last two weekends in May,"
Danny added, "and we would really love for all of you to be
there. Since we've just sprung this on Dad too, because he
didn't know this before we told you either, we hope he will be
willing to work with the minister and set this up for us."
I quickly agreed and everyone gave them a round of applause.
Danny and Brandon then moved about the room, getting
congratulated by everyone. I also noticed them having a very
serious discussion with Dion and Trey, and before long, that
pair was using the DJ's microphone and asking for everyone's
attention again.
"Sorry to keep interrupting," Dion began, "but Trey and I
have talked it over with Danny and Brandon and they've
agreed to let Trey and me have our own commitment
ceremony with them. We just wanted to let you know this will
be a double ceremony, but we still want all of you there. That
means you too, Shelly," he added, which caused her to blush.
Oh, well, this night has turned out to have many surprises, but
I was soon to learn there were even more to come. About
twenty minutes later, I saw Kevin, Vinnie, Nick and Shannon
going up to speak with the DJ too. Before long they had also
called for our attention.
"Vinnie and I have been planning on doing this for quite a
while," Kevin stated, "so we just thought it would be wise to do
it at the same time as the others. This way, you will only have
to come to one more ceremony."
"Danny and Brandon said they don't have a problem with us
doing it with them," Vinnie added, "and said they'd be happy
to have all of us do it together."
"We're really sorry about how long this interruption is," Nick
stated, "but we've decided to make it a real family affair and
have a quadruple ceremony. Shannon and I want to commit
ourselves to each other at the same time and hope each of you
will join us."
"Dad, I'm sorry if this is a surprise," Shannon added, "but
we've never hidden the fact from you about how we feel about
each other. It's just that we want to follow your and Pop's
example and do it right."
I don't think Jake could argue with him after hearing him say
this, even if he had wanted to. However, for the rest of the
evening, Jake and I were being congratulated too, since four
pairs of our boys were committing themselves to each other.
Good grief, it meant we were having a quadruple wedding of
sorts. Boy, this was going to take some planning.
Well, when midnight hit, we had a lot to celebrate and
celebrate we did. I'm not sure Joshie was up when it
happened, but the noise certainly woke him within seconds
afterward, if he had been sleeping. He didn't cry or anything,
but he did look around as all the streamers flew through the
air and the horns, whistles and other noise-making devices
sounded.
Once we got home, Jake and I talked about what the boys had
done and Jake had no problem with any of it, not even with
Nick and Shannon. He said he thought it was a lovely idea and
even better that all four couples were doing it together. Now,
we just had to set it up with the minister. Let the party begin.